Chapter 26: Best Laid Plans
"They must have started using Polyjuice to pass as students after Sprout and Uncle Neville stopped your grandfather wandering the castle the last time he was here," Rose said.
Scorpius nodded silently. He hadn't said much since they reached the safety of Gryffindor Tower, just folded himself into one of the chairs in the corner and stared blankly at the fire. Rose had been doing basically just this for the last twenty minutes or so, pacing and punctuating the silence with new realizations as she thought things through.
There was no way they were going back to the Quidditch pitch, not after what they'd just seen. When Wilkes and the others. . . the Death Eaters . . . were out of earshot, Rose and Scorpius had practically sprinted back to the Astronomy Tower, taking the longer, more circuitous route they would use normally to get to class, rather than the shortcut up the hidden stairway. They didn't want to chance getting caught.
When they'd gotten there, though, whoever had been Obliviated had already gone. Most likely they'd come to and wandered off somewhere already. Rose and Scorpius walked the corridors in either direction, but had no luck finding them. With the potential threat of encountering Wilkes and her compatriots still hanging over their heads, they decided reluctantly to go back to the common room. When the Quidditch game was over . . . when it was safer to be wandering the halls again . . . they'd go search again.
They had the run of the common room; somewhat to Rose's surprise, the Quidditch game was still going on. It felt as though it had been hours. It felt as though, with everything that had happened, it should be over.
"But where in the Astronomy Tower?" Rose said, more to herself than to Scorpius at this point. "And why do they need Wilkes? She didn't even . . . she didn't even seem to want to be there. They said they needed someone unMarked . . ." Rose remembered the pleading in Melisenda's voice when she shouted that the Memory Charm was too strong. She felt a pang of sympathy. Wilkes was afraid.
And no wonder.
The Book of the Mark was real. Lucius Malfoy was after it, along with who-knows-how-many other prior Death Eaters – at least two. Somehow, it was somewhere at Hogwarts. The students who were getting Obliviated . . . they must have either all been in the Astronomy Tower, or by the dungeons. Hadn't Fred mentioned being somewhere near the dungeons . . .? And she'd found Azalea close to the upper levels of the school, so she must have been near the Astronomy Tower . . . All of the students must have come upon the hidden stairwell at an inopportune time, or planned to use the Astronomy Tower for . . . well, for the same reason that students had been sneaking off to use the Astronomy Tower for ages. Or just to get away from the hubbub of the castle. They must have all just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Because there were Death Eaters at Hogwarts. And there had been all year.
"We have to tell someone," Rose said. Scorpius didn't respond. "Malfoy!" Rose said, snapping her fingers until he looked at her. "We have to tell someone."
Scorpius nodded mutely. Rose, having briefly sat, flung herself off the sofa and began pacing furiously again. She curled her hands into fists, but could still feel the impulse to run piano scales on . . . something. Anything.
"Who?" asked Scorpius hoarsely after a few moments. He gripped his chair very tightly. "Who would we tell?"
"Professor Longbottom," Rose said immediately. "Uncle Neville. We can trust him, and he'll already know that someone was trying to break into Greenhouse Five."
Scorpius nodded. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers together. For a moment, Rose thought he was going to be sick.
"Malfoy . . ." she started hesitantly, but then Al burst through the portrait hole in a whirl of noise.
To Rose's shock, he sprinted directly over to her and threw his arms around her. She hugged him back. It took her a moment to realize he was shaking. And talking – it sounded like he was saying, "You're all right, you're all right," over and over again, almost under his breath. But he hadn't been with them . . . how could he have known where they'd gone? That they'd even been in danger?
"Al?" Rose asked quietly, patting his back gently. "Al, what's going on? Are you alright? What happened?"
Al gulped and stepped back, collapsing onto the couch. His green eyes were vivid, as though he might have been crying, and his hair was wild. He reached over and gripped the arm of Scorpius's chair. Scorpius, shaken out of whatever torpor he'd been in by Al's dramatic entrance, watched his friend intently. Al gulped a few times.
"We . . .," he began, voice shaking, "We'd just finished the game when someone said there'd been another attack. A double attack. And then . . ." he took a deep, shuddering breath, "And then everyone was there when we were walking back, except the two of you, and . . . and I didn't know what had happened to you, and – where were you?"
"Oh, Al," Rose said in a rush, "I'm so sorry, it wasn't like we could tell you in the middle of the game. I . . . well, I saw that Wilkes had gone at some point, and I followed her, and Malfoy came too, and . . ." she trailed off. Al was so upset already, she didn't want to add to it by telling him about the hidden stairwell, about what they'd heard in the Astronomy Tower, about the Book of the Mark. About the Death Eaters.
She'd have to, sooner or later. But not right now, when he held his head in his hands and his shoulders were shaking slightly. Right now, he just needed a moment.
"Al, we're ok. Really, I promise. But right now, we have to go see Uncle Neville, all right? And then we'll – "
"But haven't you heard?" The face Al turned to her now was tear-stained and bleak. "Uncle Neville was attacked outside the Quidditch pitch. He's been sent to St. Mungo's."
. . .
By the time Professor Creevey made his way to the Gryffindor common room, it felt as though every student in the Gryffindor was there, sitting in near silence. Even Wilkes had made her way back. She sat alone with her back against one of the paneled walls, knees drawn in and ponytail askew.
Rose had wanted to confront Wilkes the instant she walked in, but Scorpius had laid his hand on her arm and shook his head.
Professor Creevey was a small and mousey man Rose recognized from the Head Table and nowhere else. He taught, Fred whispered, Muggle Studies, which didn't begin until third year. He'd been in Gryffindor when he was a student. Now he wore his tie in Gryffindor colors again. His robes were a mess, and he looked like he could use about fifteen good hours of sleep. But he was a professor, and so even having him in the room felt somehow safer than all of them gathered there without an adult. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Professor Creevey," he began quietly. There was no need to shout over any noise; the Gryffindor common room was eerily silent, for all that it was crowded. "I'll be acting as Deputy Head of Gryffindor House while Professor Longbottom . . . recuperates.
"To clear up any misconceptions or other stories that may be making their way around – I do know what it's like to be a student here, after all," he added with the hint of a smile to some titters from the gathered students. "Here is what happened today: several students leaving the pitch today heard a fight, and followed the noise to find Professor Longbottom, who had been injured and remains unconscious. He appears to have been hit by several Stunning Spells as he faced his attackers . . . whoever they were. And before you ask," he continued, holding up a hand, "He is expected to make a full recovery. Professor Longbottom's memory has not been altered, to the best of our knowledge. One Stunning Spell seems to have been deflected and hit a first-year Gryffindor nearby. Cyrus Aden has been brought to the Hospital Wing and will suffer no long-term impacts.
"Two additional students were found Obliviated in the upper corridors shortly after the game ended. They are both Hufflepuff fifth years, and prefects – Avi Hirsch and Lucy Weasley."
Lucy.
The bottom dropped out of Rose's stomach, and she heard Al make a noise as though he'd been punched beside her. James shot to his feet, but Louis and Fred both pulled him back down. Buzzing filled Rose's ears. She and Scorpius had told Al that someone else had been attacked, but they'd had no idea who.
Lucy? What had Lucy ever done, besides be sweet and gentle and kind, and probably volunteer to patrol the hallways during the Quidditch game to make sure everyone else stayed safe?
Rose felt anger clench like a fist in her chest.
" . . . St. Mungo's as well," Professor Creevey was saying. "It is obvious at this point that the castle is somehow under siege. We don't know who is responsible for these attacks, or why they are happening, but we are dedicating every resource we can to keeping our students safe.
"If you had planned to stay at Hogwarts over the Easter holidays, but want to change your plans in light of these recent events, please come talk to me now, and we will get this sorted." At this, a large number of students stood and began making their way over to Professor Creevey. Many more raised their hands. Professor Creevey cleared his throat, and the murmuring in the room went silent again. "If you would still like to stay, please know that no students will be allowed anywhere other than their own common rooms, the Library, or the Great Hall. You must be escorted by a professor at all times. Any scheduled Quidditch practices will be suspended for the holidays, until we are back to full staff capacity and can provide staff supervision for those as well. Likewise, visitation to Hogsmeade during the holidays is prohibited.
"If . . . er. If any of you have questions . . .," hands shot up around the room, "Or if you'd like to rearrange your holiday plans, I will be over there," Professor Creevey pointed at a corner opposite from where Rose sat. "I hope I will be able to help," he added more quietly.
Rose, Al, and Scorpius didn't move while the vast majority of Gryffindor students sought out Professor Creevey in a massive rush.
"You alright, Scorpius?" Al asked quietly. Rose and Scorpius had barely had the chance to catch Al up on what they'd seen and what they'd figured out before the rest of the students had come streaming in through the portrait hole. There'd be no time for discussion beyond that.
Scorpius had his head in his hands. It was an uncharacteristic pose for him, slumped over in his chair. He didn't look up until Al nudged him, and when he did, his eyes were oddly bright in an otherwise drained face. "I just . . .," he began, and then sighed shakily. "It would be nice for once it wasn't my family doing something terrible." He shut his eyes tightly.
Rose and Al looked at each other uncomfortably. Rose didn't know quite how to respond to that. Al put his hand on Scorpius's shoulder.
"It's not you, though, mate," Al said bracingly. "You've done nothing wrong." Scorpius didn't respond. "And hey," Al continued with some desperation, "Look on the bright side!"
"There's a bright side?" Scorpius asked, looking up at last.
"Well, we beat Slytherin today, at least."
Scorpius's mouth tightened into something that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike a smile.
. . .
Although owl post typically arrived in the mornings, Rose, Al, and Scorpius all received urgent mail in the Great Hall that evening at dinner, as did a great number of other students. Rose imagined that, having been informed of the new attacks, most students were being called home for hols. Just until this blew over, the parents would write. Just until it was a little safer. It wasn't like the Chamber of Secrets had been reopened (no, Rose thought, it was worse than that).
Her letter was different.
Dear Rosie,
DO NOT come home for Easter hols. We have new leads from the attacks this afternoon. Can't believe they thought they'd get away with this. We think it's all connected to the Book – well, you know. What we were talking about over Christmas. We're on the trail now – with Uncle Harry. He sends his love.
Will have to be Untraceable for these next few weeks. Hugo will be at Aunt Luna's with Lily. Send letters to Aunt Luna if you need to reach us.
Don't worry, Rosie. Keep the Deluminator with you and DO NOT LEAVE THE CASTLE.
Love,
Dad and Mum
Al's letter said much of the same. He and Rose swapped notes and read each other's before handing them over to Scorpius.
Scorpius folded his own letter into ever-smaller triangles and stuffed it into a pocket in his robes. "It says I have to go home," he said disgustedly.
"That's all right," Al said bracingly. "We're going to be so locked down, I'm sure nothing interesting will happen over hols anyways." Scorpius looked as though this was not quite the reassurance he'd been hoping for.
As it turned out, Al was essentially right. It was a somber majority of students who packed their bags all in a rush that night and headed for their homes the next morning. All of the Weasley-Potter clan cousins had been called home, save for Al, Rose, and James. And Molly, who would likely spend most of her holiday at St. Mungo's. She'd looked pale and shockingly young when she set off with the rest, nothing like the self-possessed (somewhat bossy, Merlin love her) Head Girl Rose was used to. Dom had her arm clasped protectively around Molly, as though to protect her from any onslaught of painful questions about her sister.
Both the Wilkes girls had been called home for the holidays. Small wonder, Rose thought, as the heightened security in the castle would doubtless mean that there were next to no opportunities for Melisenda to make any more attempts on the door in the Astronomy Tower. There were so few students left, even without the extra security and the prohibitions on students wandering unaccompanied, there would have been no way to get any additional people onto Hogwarts grounds without someone noticing. No way to lose extra people-appearing-to-be-approximately-the-right-age in the crowd when "the crowd" was all of twelve students total who had stayed.
Mealtimes were very quiet, even though everyone was eating at the same table to save work for the house elves. The remaining students were closely monitored by the professors who'd also stayed – Rose and Al couldn't move after meals without Callister demanding to know where they were going, or Creevey offering to bring them back to Gryffindor tower. Out of all the professors, Wistorren seemed the least affected, but then again, he was taking most meals in his rooms these days – out of fear or caution, Rose wasn't sure.
And with Uncle Neville in St. Mungo's, Rose, Al, and Scorpius had to reevaluate their original plans. Telling Professor Creevey didn't feel the same – none of them really knew him, and it didn't feel safe to go talking about the Book of the Mark to just any Professor in the castle.
"For all we know," Al argued, "Creevey is another Callister. I think not."
Rose and Al resolved instead to get hold of Headmistress Sprout; they felt safe telling her, after all. But this was easier said than done. Firstly, the castle was on extremely high alert during the Easter hols, and it was nigh impossible for students to leave Gryffindor Tower for anywhere other than the Great Hall, where it would have been impossible for them to talk to the Headmistress without drawing unwanted attention. Plus, the Headmistress seemed to be surrounded by a veritable swarm of owls every time they saw her. Rose and Al figured they must all be letters from parents, clamoring to know if it was going to be safe to send their children back to Hogwarts. If they had caught the culprits. If anyone knew why their children were being memory-wiped.
About three days into hols, though, Headmistress Sprout solved this by seeking them out at breakfast one morning. "Morning, Miss Weasley, Mr. Potter," she said brusquely from the end of the table. Al's mouth, full of scrambled egg, dropped open. James looked blearily up from his toast. "I wanted you to know that I've heard from your parents," she continued, tapping her nose. Rose wasn't quite sure what that was supposed to mean. "We're working together on this. And they wanted me to thank you for your help, and let you know that they're just fine."
"Er . . . right. Thank you, Headmistress," Rose said. Neither Al nor James was especially coherent at this hour, and James would have next to no idea what Sprout was talking about to boot.
As Sprout walked away, James turned to Al, realization dawning on his face. "Are you involved with something again this year?" he asked loudly.
"Don't you think we'd have told you if we wanted you to know?" Al muttered, kicking at the legs of the bench.
"Later, James," Rose hissed. After all, they were in the Great Hall. If they were going to tell James about Wilkes, and the Book of the Mark, and the Death Eaters, it would have to be somewhere quieter. And she and Al would have to get their stories straight first. James might have been good to have around in a pinch, but he was not known for his subtlety or subterfuge.
Ultimately, they told James nearly the whole truth, except the part about the Death Eaters and the Book of the Mark.
So only a very small part of the whole truth, really.
It still didn't seem safe, somehow, for there to be more people who knew about all that. Especially people like James, who would quite obviously have responded by going looking for the Godric-forsaken Book himself. They'd only be putting him in more danger by telling him the full story, Al had reasoned (Rose wasn't sure if this was out of some sort of protective nobility, or if Al was concerned James would insist on keeping a closer eye on them if he knew the full story). So mostly what they told him was that Melisenda Wilkes was definitely trying to open doors in the castle that she shouldn't have been, that it was students who were catching her at this who were getting Obliviated, and obviously now that their parents and the Headmistress knew about this, it would all be taken care of. He seemed satisfied with this explanation, although he was unhappy and perhaps a little wounded that Rose had been skipping Quidditch games to follow Wilkes around.
Rose and Al spent an unexpected amount of time studying during the holidays, seeing as they weren't allowed anywhere else in the castle aside from the Gryffindor common room and, occasionally, the library. Al complained that he had finished all his work about four days in, because without the distractions of Quidditch and . . . well, everything else in the castle, it turned out there wasn't much to do aside from homework. Rose began studying for her end of term exams and ignored his whining; he'd either catch on, or he wouldn't. She'd learned her lesson last year – there was no way she was going to waste her time drafting a study schedule for him that he was just going to ignore.
And they spent a good amount of time talking about whether or not they'd confront Melisenda when she returned. Al was for it, Rose against. Al reasoned that if they were able to get any additional information out of Wilkes, it could only help their parents with whatever leads they were pursuing. Rose, on the other hand, having had time to consider, thought that alerting Melisenda in any way that they knew what she'd been up to could only put them in danger and jeopardize any chance they might have of somehow being helpful in the end. Plus, hadn't she been telling herself all year that she wouldn't make the same mistakes as last year? Her parents and Al's parents knew what was happening. They were on the trail. Wouldn't it be a mistake to go diving into danger again, convinced that only she could solve whatever problem needed solving?
In the end, though, it wasn't Melisenda they wound up confronting.
Author's Note: I know, I know. Neville Longbottom is a precious cinnamon roll.
Thank you for reading, and, as usual, feel free to let me know what you think!
- bbh
